Notes from the North: perspectives on the Manchester redevelopment revolution

It’s not unusual for a news article to prompt discussion in the SEC Newgate Manchester office, but this interesting piece in The Guardian on whether Manchester (specifically its city centre) is turning into London started an impassioned debate amongst colleagues.

The article highlights the significant changes that have occurred in the past decade as the city has undergone rapid redevelopment, as new luxury apartments coupled with bougie high-end amenities contrast with the established working-class neighbourhoods of old. 

A born and bred Mancunian colleague said the recent transformation to many areas of his home city, and the influx of generally affluent younger people from London (and indeed from the rest of the world) has significantly altered the city from the one he knew in only recent memory. He lamented that the city’s cultural identity, which has no doubt been the attraction for so many incomers, is now at risk of being diluted.

Contrast this with a younger colleague who has recently moved up from London and who personifies the new wave of city centre dwellers (though I’m not aware he’s an influencer). His reasons for moving to Manchester are primarily based on the higher quality lifestyle he is now afforded at a much lower cost. He likes the new Manchester that has welcomed him and his kind.

As a long-term adopted Mancunian myself, now firmly planted in the leafy suburbs, I look on from a distance. The changes are noticeable, and they have been rapid. But throughout history Manchester has always been a city of change: beginning with the industrial revolution, culturally and physically, the city has never stood still. The cotton reel has been replaced by the Instagram reel. Such is progress.

Manchester’s latest revolution is in redevelopment and gentrification. It represents a new and exciting chapter for the city, one that will be pored over by historians and sociologists for decades to come. Manchester is one of the few areas of the UK to post notable economic growth in the post-covid era, narrowing (even if slowly) the north-south divide. “What Manchester does today, the world does tomorrow”, said Benjamim Disraeli. I think our current crop of politicians and policymakers should take note.